BITTW-Origins-Water
by CHEESEPUFF fg
Summary: AU. My first attempt at an origin story of the members of the Gang of Masks from my storyline,Blood is thicker than water.Set before Vol.1. One shot


**A.N.** **Nicole's story prior to Blood is Thicker than Water**

 **AND HAVE YOU SEEN IRON AND STONE?**

 **Sassy Kid Wu RULES!**

 **And there is more info being given on Oni! Sooooo excited for the next one!**

This is the day of the mindwipe.(that's what I'm calling the mass amnesia. Can't think of anything better)

"I believe that the words that he told you are not your grave"-I believe,Christina Perri

Nicole's Apartment,New Ninjago City,afternoon

Nicole had been out all day searching for a job. _Every. Single. Place. She. Had. Asked. At. Had. Turned. Her. Down!_

Nicole lay on her bed and let out a defeated sigh,she was never going to get a job. Today had been hard enough for her.

She'd woken up that morning on the kitchen floor with only 3 memories: she had a boyfriend(she'd got in contact with him,the two were going to meet up that evening),she had an older brother(sadly she couldn't remember anything about him,not his hair colour,eye colour,or even his name),and finally she could remember just the first letter of her name. She'd had many options for girl's names beginning with the letter N. Nicola,Natalie,Natasha,Nova,Nina,Nikki and Nancy. Eventually she'd settled on Nicole.(A.N. yes,I used the internet to look up names beginning with N. I didn't know that many).

Nicole didn't have a last name,but apparently in Ninjago that didn't matter right now,lots of people were in the same position as her,so she should consider herself lucky she had a place to sleep,not everyone was as lucky as herself.

But she'd applied for jobs everywhere from the Library to Borg Industries,and had been turned down at all 22 she'd applied for!

Nicole was close to having a meltdown. She took a deep breath,got up off of her bed and left once again to find a job.

She'd gotten halfway down the street,when she became lost in thought,suppose she didn't get the job,what would she do then?

She was so lost in thought that she walked right into someone else and was knocked onto her bottom. She glared up at the man who had knocked her over. Nicole knew in the back of her mind that it was entirely her own fault,but she was having a bad day and needed someone to blame. But she found she couldn't hold it against the man for long,he looked like he'd been crying recently,and despite that he was kind enough to help her up,constantly apologising for knocking her over.

"Hey,it's fine. I've just been having a bad day. Can't find a job anywhere. What's up with you? Something bothering you?" Nicole told the stranger

"Personal life." Was the man's only reply, "But I might be able to help with a job. At my work we are short on helping hands sorting out the paperwork. The job wouldn't be full time,and would be voluntary,but if you do good enough work you'll get paid...plus it'll look good when you apply for a proper job."

Nicole was speechless,a complete stranger was offering to help her. She knew she shouldn't trust strangers,she had had "stranger danger" driven into her brain so much that even amnesia couldn't take that away.

However, Nicole took in the man's appearance. He was wearing a black t-shirt under a grey v-neck jumper,he had grey trousers and shiny black shoes on. He had a kind face with bloodshot leaf green eyes and fluffy brown hair,his smile seemed genuine,so she agreed.(A.N. *smiles* I've given a description of his clothes! Yay! Go me!)

"I'm Richard,by the way... My friends call me... Richard... But my siblings called me Rich..." Richard trailed off and Nicole realised he'd used past tense when talking about his siblings,she figured that was why he was crying,so she thought it best not to ask.

"Anyway,I work at the Ninjago City Police Department,you wouldn't mind working there,would you?"

"A job's a job. Besides,I've been turned down 22 times today already. I'm kinda desperate." Nicole admitted.

Richard laughed, "Well,Nicole,don't worry. You're more than likely going to get the job because we are also desperate."

small time skip*

The interview went well. Nicole was told they'd inform her tomorrow if she'd got the job or not.

After her evening with her boyfriend,who she discovered was also amnesiac and going by the name of James,Nicole arrived home worn out from everything that had happened during the day. But she was happy she'd made a new friend,Richard Inconscient,who had reassured her she was going to get that job. Her boyfriend was really sweet and made her laugh throughout dinner. She had a roof over her head...well,it was technically someone else's floor,but that wasn't the point.

As she lay on the bed,staring at the ceiling,Nicole decided that no matter what,she was determined to get that job. If her interview was a failure,she'd ask what qualifications/qualities she needed for the job and then she'd work on them.

As she decided this,a feather on her shelf caught her eye. She was certain it hadn't been there before. She got up(still on her bed) and walked over to her shelf(It's above the foot end of her bed) and she found that the feather was part of a bird masquerade mask. It was a beautiful combination of two different shades of blue and maroon feathers,with a silver beak. Nicole held it in her hands,feeling the feathers beneath her figures,the feathers were extremely soft,not at all what Nicole had expected.

She got off her bed with surprising grace and silence,not that she noticed,and in a trance like state,not thinking straight,she made her way to the bathroom.

Nicole stood infront of the bathroom mirror and put the mask on...

(A.N. quick note,her apartment is ground floor,same position as the Inconscient apartment,she's a few floors below Richard,but he doesn't know that yet. Her bedroom is the equivalent of Liam/Lloyd's bedroom.)

The next morning,Nicole's apartment,New Ninjago City

Nicole awoke to the sound of the phone ringing. She looked at the item in her hand,confirming that last night wasn't a dream,but she knew the ringing phone was her top priority.

Nicole answered the house phone with a groggy "Hello?"

"Sorry,did I wake you?" Came a cheerful woman's voice from the other end.

"Yeah,don't worry about it though." Nicole replied sleepily.

"Okay. Am I speaking to a Miss Nicole ?" The woman asked.

"Yup. That's me."

"My name is Officer Ann Lex of the Ninjago City Police Department. I'm pleased to tell you that you've got the job."

Nicole was shocked. She'd actually got it?

"I'm sorry,could you repeat that?"

Officer Lex laughed, "Of course, you've got the job at the Police Department. Inconscient is a friend of mine,he warned me you might be in disbelief about getting the job..." Ann rambled on a bit more but Nicole wasn't listening.

She'd actually gone and done it.

She'd gotten herself a job!

She looked down at the item in her hand.

The golden Phoenix talisman proved to her that she could do anything,all she needed was a little self belief and determination.

 **A.N. this is something I'm trying out. There will be one for each member of the Hierarchy(hopefully). It will be about how they all came to join the Gang of Masks. They will be published individually on my account with my drawing of the Hierarchy member as the cover...I've got to use the pictures somehow.**


End file.
